South Korea industrial output inches down domestic demand inch up in June

Seoul, South Korea's industrial output fell for the second consecutive month in June, but retail sales and facility investment rebounded. Industrial output inched down 0.1% on-month in June, following a 0.8% fall a month earlier. The decline came as production from the construction sector shed 0.3% and that in the public administration field tumbled 5.1% in June. But the output in the chip sector jumped 8.1% on strong demand for semiconductors, offsetting a marked fall in the production of the pharmaceutical field, resulting in a 0.5% rise in the overall production in the manufacturing and mining sector, according to Yonhap. The service sector reported a 0.2% on-month increase in June, led by the finance, insurance and real estate sectors. In an on-year term, industrial production added 0.5% in June. Retail sales, a gauge of private spending, advanced 1% on-month as demand for automobiles and other durable goods climbed 5.2%. It marked the first on-month growth since March. Sales of semidurable goods, such as clothes, inched up 0.8%, while those of nondurable goods, such as food, lost 0.9%. In an on-year term, retail sales fell 3.6% last month amid lingering concerns about weak domestic demand due to high inflation and high interest rates. Facility investment climbed 4.3% from a month earlier in June, rebounding from a 3.6% decline the previous month. The increase was attributable to rising investment in the machinery sector, though that in the car and other transportation equipment sector went down 2.8%. Compared with a year earlier, facility investment declined 2.7%. Source: Bahrain News Agency